Jordan Bianchi, a motorsports insider for The Athletic, called out NASCAR's hypocrisy when it comes to fining drivers for altercations with other drivers. The co-host of "The Teardown" podcast on Dirty Mo Media pointed out that NASCAR will fine a driver for getting involved in a fight, yet use the footage of the fight to promote the sport.In a recent episode of "The Teardown," Bianchi used Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s post-race altercation with Kyle Busch at North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2023. In the encounter, Stenhouse punched Busch in the face, causing a huge brawl between the two teams. Due to the incident, Stenhouse was fined $75,000 by NASCAR.Bianchi believes it's the wrong approach to fights to fine a driver. Instead, he believes the sport should take the opposite approach and appreciate the drivers who get into altercations for helping draw publicity.Here's what Bianchi said via "The Teardown":"If Ricky Stenhouse Jr. is going to pop Kyle Busch, I'm not fining him $75,000. I'm probably going to pay him $75,000 for that and go, 'Here's your check. Thank you for that. You just got us on every national outlet in the country and we're not going to embarrass you by fining you 75 grand, which by the way pisses off your sponsor, because your sponsors like, 'Oh man, that makes us look bad.'" (0:02 onwards)With Bianchi's approach, he said sponsors would celebrate their driver for not being afraid to get their hands dirty. The insider finished by saying NASCAR shouldn't be hypocritical in punishing drivers for fighting, while still using the fight footage for commercials and other promotional tactics."It's so hypocritical to sit there and fine these guys this money and at the same time turn around and use it for commercials. You can't have it both ways," Jordan Bianchi said. (0:29 onwards)When does the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season start?As Kyle Larson captured his second career NASCAR Cup Series championship in the season-finale race at Phoenix on Nov. 2, the 2025 season came to a close. Now, the attention turns to 2026 and a new season of NASCAR action ahead. The season will kick off with annual Cook Out Clash exhibition, which takes place on Feb. 1 at Bowman Gray Stadium.Two weeks later, the Cup Series circuit will gear up for the 68th running of the Daytona 500. The Duels at Daytona to determine the starting field will take place on Thursday (Feb. 12), three days before the Daytona 500, which takes place on Feb. 15.The season will feature a similar broadcast rotation, with FOX covering the early portion of the campaign, TNT/Prime taking over throughout the summer months, then NBC finishing off the season through the playoffs.